The Past Couple of Days

Late Wednesday morning, my cousin called me with the news that her aunt had passed away, earlier that morning.  This is a member of my extended family and one of my honorary aunts.  My maternal grandparents knew her parents; she and her older sister knew my mother and her siblings since childhood.  I grew up calling her Aunty.  It's the same lady who hosted the New Year's Day luncheon.  She had been in poor health since last year, when her husband of 64 years died.  She had been able to sit up and join the conversation on New Year's Day, but her health declined rapidly after that.  On Wednesday, she breathed her last, in her bed at home, with her older sister holding her hand and her younger daughter by her side,   Apparently, a priest had come and given her her last rites, earlier that morning.  She died less than 8 months after her beloved husband; she always said she couldn't live without him.

Later that evening, my cousin and her daughter gave me a ride to aunt's home.  The family and close friends were gathering to say the rosary.  On the way, we stopped at a popular Cuban bakery to buy some of their potato balls and individual meat pies.  The potato balls are made of mashed potatoes, made into balls with a meat filling inside, and deep fried.  The meat pies are about 3 inches across, made with puff pastry rounds, with a meat filling.  I bought a dozen of each to take to the rosary.  Aunt's body was still in the house when we went.  We stayed until the body was taken to the mortuary.

Lunch had been a scrambled egg on a piece of whole wheat bread, toasted.  I had planned on a salad and salmon for dinner.  But, of course, I was at the rosary at dinner time and there really wasn't any low-carb options, there, as people had just brought whatever they could to contribute to a snack meal.  There was rice congee (rice porridge), pizza, fried chicken, tortilla roll ups, taquitos, the potato balls and meat pies my cousin and I took, etc. So, I ate one potato ball and one meat pie.  It was not ideal, but, I figured it was OK, under the circumstances.  I didn't have any of the desserts and I drank water instead of soda, so I feel I didn't do too badly.

Wednesday night, I found out that a friend's mother also passed away, earlier that morning!  They say that news of deaths come in threes...

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:
- Cousin and her daughter giving me a ride to aunt's home
- Having attended what turned out to be the last New Year's Day gathering aunt hosted
- Being able to contribute something towards the rosary meal
- Being able to offer my condolences to her grieving family
- Having known this aunt for as long as I did

On Thursday morning, I slept in and dreamed that my house was being foreclosed!  In my dream, some unknown people were removing the furniture from my house and tossing the items into a big garbage truck!    I was screaming and asking them who they were and why were they taking away my furniture!  I even called 911, in my dream, crying, apologizing because it wasn't a medical emergency, but strangers were here removing my furniture and I didn't know why!  Then, one of the strangers, a young woman, told me that their company now owns my mortgage and they were foreclosing on me!  No!  I woke up from this very vivid dream, thinking, "But, I don't have a mortgage!"  I paid off the mortgage, a few years ago and I live a debt-free life.  Maybe the dream is a sign that I really need to replace my furniture!  The living room sofas, at least, which are more than 22 years old, as the upholstery is in shreds after being used as scratching posts by Dancer and his predecessors!

I called my cousin, Thursday morning, to check on her to see how she was (the aunt who passed away had been married to her uncle - her father's younger brother).  I also told her I planned to go shopping in the afternoon, if she needed to go, too (earlier, she had called and asked me to let her know if I was going to the Armenian store or the pharmacy), but she said she didn't need to go.

So, I went by myself.  First, to the Armenian store, where I bought broccoli, zucchini, and a papaya.  Then, I went to the pharmacy to pick up my inhaler.  Next, to the dollar store (right next to the pharmacy) where I bought a few more groceries, some packets of vegetable and flower seeds, a box of waste basket liners, a box of parchment paper, and a packet of toothbrushes.

1/24 Groceries (and Dancer, inspecting it all)

At the Armenian store, I bought:
Zucchini @ $.99/lb = $1.06
Broccoli @ $.99/lb = $1.04
Papaya @ $.69/lb = $1.32
Total = $3.42

The prices were a little bit better than earlier in the week.

Armenian Store Receipt

At the dollar store, I bought:
1 cauliflower = $1.00
4 cans mackerel in brine = $4.00
3 cans mixed vegetables @ $.80 = $2.40 (they used to be $.50, each!)
1 jar salsa = $1.00
1 (6 oz) pack raspberries = $1.00
1 (6 oz) pack blackberries = $1.00
1 (6 oz) pack blueberries = $1.00
1 box cake mix = $1.00 (to make a dessert to take to this Saturday's rosary gathering)
Total = 12.40


Total spent on groceries on Thursday = $3.42 + $12.40 = $15.82


Spent to date: $.99 + $2.07 + $10.21 + $22.33 + 18.03 + $15.82 = $69.45

January grocery budget = $75
Amount left = $75 - $69.45 = $5.55

That'll be just enough to top up the fresh produce, next week!

Non-Grocery Items

In addition to the grocery items, I also bought 7 packets of vegetable seeds (two each of green beans and peas, two type of tomatoes, a packet of zucchini) and a packet of calendula flower seeds for $.25 each, a box of waste basket liners, a box of parchment paper, and a package of 4 toothbrushes, all from the dollar store.  With sales tax (on the non-grocery items), my total came to $17.71.

Dollar Store Receipt

On the way home from shopping, I stopped by the library and returned the two books I had borrowed and checked out another book.  This one is a 7-day loan and may not be renewed, so I need to read it, right away.

After I got home, I put water to the new peach tree and the orange tree.  Then, I cooked the salmon I had bought on Tuesday, as I couldn't cook it on Wednesday, as planned.

Lunch on Thursday was a salad - lettuce, carrot, cucumber, a little bit of the parmesan cheese that had come with the earlier salad kit, plus Caesar dressing.  I didn't take a photo of that.

Dinner was a portion of salmon, with broccoli, zucchini, and corn (measured out 1/4 cup frozen corn before boiling it):

Thursday Dinner

The zucchini got a little overcooked for my liking, but, it was OK.  I waited two hours after dinner, checked my sugar, and had some of the raspberries for dessert (about half of the container).  Later, I felt hungry and ate some roasted peanuts.

In the night, I called friend R and spoke with her.  Later, I video chatted with my daughter.  I tried to write a blog post after that, but it was late and I was tired.

On Thursday, I was grateful for:
- The foreclosure on the house was just a dream!
- A sunny, warm (high of 79F!) day
- Being able to run my errands
- Libraries
- Family and friends

Hope all is well with all of you.